Tell the World That We Finally Got it All Right
by MoonlightGardenias
Summary: Written for the September fic challenge/ "He slips through the cracks in her façade, filling her life in every possible way, until he's so much a part of her and it again she can't let him go, even if she wanted. "


**Author's Note:** I would like to take a moment to thank those of you who've written, reviewed, and read fics over the summer hiatus. Whether it was for the monthly challenges we've put forth or something else entirely, this summer would surely have been a long one without the entertainment and kind words y'all have provided. We've only got a few more days until season two, and I can't wait to see what happens.

Anyway, this fic came in at exactly 1,000 words. I haven't had to work with a word count since prior to graduation, so that was a fun thing to work with. It's not as fluffy as it could have been, but here's hoping I do our favorite couple justice. :)

* * *

After the accident and subsequent return to the tour, they don't fight, aside from their usual bickering during rehearsals. Rayna expects avoidance, or maybe yelling, the day she shows up and eyes Deacon standing next to Bucky backstage, and is surprised when neither comes. Somehow, the quiet words, whispered with unshed tears late at night after everyone has left the arena in Dallas or Denver or some other city they can't quite remember because they've all blurred together, hurt all the more.

"I know I screwed up. I know I've done terrible things, Ray," Deacon says, nodding as if remembering them himself. He looks her in the eye when he adds, "But I still wish you would've told me."

It's all Rayna can do to keep from collapsing in on herself as she forces out words she knows will never cure everything in hopes they will at least help. "I know," she whispers. "I do, too."

They part ways with a promise that somehow, they'll find a way to make whatever _this_ is work. She tells him he'll have the relationship with Maddie he wants, and not even Teddy can stand in the way. Deacon says he's willing if she is, but he walks away before she can figure out what he means.

He slips through the cracks in her façade, filling her life in every possible way, until he's so much a part of her and it again she can't let him go, even if she wanted.

After the tour ends, excuses need to be made to see each other. No longer can simply running into one another in the hall fit the bill. They can no longer skirt around the major issues of their lives and play nice like nothing is wrong.

It happens slowly at first. He brings over pizza under the pretense of needing a snack to eat while they work on a new song, and when they end up sitting on the floor by the sofa doing more eating and laughing than writing, he doesn't mind. When he comes over a week later to watch a movie with the girls and it ends up storming, he ends up staying long after they've gone to bed and the rain has stopped, sitting at Rayna's counter and talking about nothing and everything at the same time. He tells her again how much he's changed and how sorry he is that he let it all go down the drain the days leading up to the accident. He knows now she had good reasons for what she did, but feels betrayed just the same, and he tells her as much.

This time Rayna's words are more sure, her voice sounding steadier when she reaches across the counter for his hand. "Deacon, if I could take back the things I did that hurt you—that hurt Maddie, too—I would. I'd do my best to find some other way. But the way you were back then? It scared me, Deac. I was afraid when I made that choice, but I'm not anymore. Let me make this right."

And he does. Or at least he tries, because as the weeks trickle by Deacon feels antsy, rocking back on his heels and trying to be patient.

The trip to the cabin is Rayna's idea, and he jumps on it. With the girls out of school, they're free to take a few days of summer break away from the chaos of their hometown. While the girls are reluctant to temporarily let go of technology, they become enamored with the place. Rayna and Daphne focus on cleaning up the place while Deacon takes Maddie out to the lake to fish. Later, once they've eaten what they caught, everyone gathers around a makeshift campfire roasting marshmallows while Deacon strums softly on his guitar.

On the way back to the cabin, he laces his fingers through Rayna's. It's comfortable and familiar, and she doesn't pull away.

Time passes. Days turn to weeks which pass into months and then a year. There are conversations about the past and the present and _someday_. Rayna releases her new album, accompanied by a brief tour around the states, but nothing as large as the Red Lips, White Lies tour. To his credit, Teddy keeps his distance, allowing Maddie to decide what she wants out of the relationship with her biological father. Rayna calls Deacon once from a hotel after a show in Tulsa to say she misses him, and they're on the phone until words become unintelligible and he finally tells her to get some sleep.

It happens on a rainy Saturday morning nearly two years after the accident. They're sitting at the kitchen table at Deacon's place, sipping coffee and enjoying the quiet. Rayna opens her mouth to say something about cancelling their afternoon plans for a picnic if the weather keeps up, but stops short upon seeing the look on his face as he slides a velvet box across the table towards her.

"Deacon?"

"I've been doin' a lot of thinkin'. About the future, about us. I know I haven't always been the greatest at this sort of thing, and if you say no, I'll understand. But this…you? It's what I want, Ray. It's what I've always wanted."

Her fingers fold around the box, feeling the weight of it. She feels tears well in her eyes as she looks up at him.

"If you don't—"

She's on his lap, her smile pressed against his neck and her arms around him, before he has time to react. "Yes," she whispers against his skin.

Deacon lets out a slow, contented exhale and settles his arms around her waist. "Say it again."

Rayna pulls back, palms resting against his face as she nods. "Yes, Deacon. I'll marry you."

The coffee grows cold and the picnic is forgotten as he carries her to the bedroom, but not before he slips the ring on her finger, happy they've finally made it here.


End file.
